Owners Rob & Jenny Gill with interior designer Amy Henderson, explain.
Honeycomb planter in the HIVE cafe
Hastings HIVE opened on 1 November 2019 in the central business district of Hastings, where part of the old Farmers building has been transformed into a contemporary co-working and serviced office space, for up to 150 people.
“Shared spaces are not new” says Rob, “but what is a fresh idea is taking the small business working environment to the next level of fit-out in the regions, using materials and designs that normally only the largest corporates would justify”. Part of the brief was to create a highly functional, but beautiful workplace. “And what could be more beautiful and functional than plants”, asks Rob? “Plants make people feel good and people simply work better, when they love where they work”.
Amy Henderson, who created the interior design for Hastings HIVE and the distinctive honeycomb wall in its centre, was excited when she found this striking feature, “all we need are a few nice plants and someone to water them”! Which is easier said than done Amy, when you run what the Gills call an i-space, with zero on-site staff.
Owners Rob and Jenny with Jo from The Green Goose
But sometimes the universe just provides, “we met Jo through mutual friends, and as often happens in the Bay” says Jenny, “it turns out that she has a passion for turning spaces green, even HIVES”. “Amy and Jo were on the same wavelength right from the start, which was great”
“The Green Goose brought in the most attractive and healthy plants, transforming the steel honeycomb structure into a green wall and then filled large planter designs around the i-space with colour and more greenery” Amy reports from her design notes.
In the relaxed lounge area and right through the circulation spaces, Guy and Jo delivered even more substantial planting with complimentary colours and shapes, which will grow and blend with their surrounding, to be as much part of Hastings HIVE, as the honeycomb they inhabit.
For more information visit www.hastingshive.co.nz and www.aadesign.co.nz